Wondering how to get over jet lag? Shift your sleep toward your destination's time a few days before you fly, then switch to local time as soon as you land. Get daylight at the right times, keep naps short, and go easy on caffeine and alcohol. It usually improves within a few days.
Your body clock runs on a roughly 24-hour cycle that tells you when to feel sleepy and when to feel alert. When you fly across time zones quickly, that clock is still set to home time for the first few days, while the clocks around you have jumped. The CDC Yellow Book describes jet lag as a sleep disorder caused by this mismatch, and its definition requires travel across at least two time zones.
The NHS lists these common symptoms:
Trouble sleeping at bedtime and waking up in the morning
Tiredness, and difficulty staying awake during the day
Poor sleep quality
Concentration and memory problems
Sometimes indigestion, nausea, constipation, appetite changes or mild anxiety
Jet lag is different from the time shift you feel at home after late weekends. That has its own name: social jet lag.
According to the CDC Yellow Book, the average internal clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours. That makes it easier to push your sleep later than to pull it earlier. Flying west asks your body to go to bed later, which is the easier direction. Flying east asks it to go to bed earlier, which is harder. On average, people adapt by about 1.5 hours per day after flying west and about 1 hour per day after flying east. The Sleep Foundation adds that most people find eastward travel harder, though about a quarter find westward travel harder.
Example: fly from New York to London, which is usually 5 hours ahead. At 11 p.m. in London, your body still feels like it's 6 p.m. At about an hour of adjustment per day, catching up fully could take several days.
Start rested. The NHS advises getting plenty of rest before you travel.
Move your sleep a little. The CDC Yellow Book suggests shifting sleep 1 hour earlier per day before eastward travel, or 1 hour later per day before westward travel, during the 2 to 3 days before you leave.
Choose your arrival time. If you can, pick a flight that lands at a time when you can get daylight at the right point in your day.
Plan your medicines. The CDC Yellow Book notes that crossing time zones can shift the timing of regular medicines. Ask your doctor or pharmacist how to time your doses.
Leave some slack. The Sleep Foundation suggests not overbooking your first days.
Example plan for flying east on Saturday, for someone who normally sleeps 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.: try 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Thursday and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday.
Drink plenty of water, stretch, and walk around the cabin regularly (NHS).
Try to sleep if it's night at your destination. An eye mask and earplugs can help.
Go easy on alcohol. The CDC Yellow Book says alcohol tends to help you fall asleep faster but makes sleep more broken, and it is not recommended as a sleep aid.
Switch to local time right away. The NHS advises changing your sleep schedule to the new time zone as quickly as possible. Eat meals and go to bed on local time.
Get daylight at the right time. The CDC Yellow Book says getting daylight at your destination eases the shift. Morning light helps your clock move earlier, which helps after flying east. Evening light helps it move later, which helps after flying west. After flying east, avoid bright light in the evening. After flying west, try to stay up until your destination bedtime.
Keep naps short. The CDC Yellow Book says short daytime naps of 20 to 30 minutes can help you stay alert, while longer naps may interfere with sleep at night. The Sleep Foundation suggests napping at least 8 hours before bedtime. More in our guide to how long a nap should be.
Time your caffeine. Caffeine can help with daytime alertness, but the CDC's example plan stops it 6 hours before bedtime. See caffeine and sleep for why.
Set an alarm. The NHS suggests setting an alarm so you don't oversleep in the morning.
Example first day after an overnight flight east, landing at 8 a.m. local time:
Morning: shower, then walk outside in daylight.
Early afternoon: if you can't stay awake, take a 20-minute nap with an alarm.
Mid-afternoon: last coffee, at least 6 hours before bed.
Evening: dim the lights, eat a light dinner, and go to bed at a normal local time.
Next morning: get up at your usual local wake time and get outside early.
For short trips of less than about 2 days, the CDC Yellow Book suggests not adapting to the new time zone at all. Keep your sleep, activity and meals on home time as much as you can. The NHS says that for a 2 to 3 day trip you could keep your usual eating and sleeping times. If you can, plan important meetings for hours when you'd normally be awake at home.
Advice on melatonin varies. The NHS says melatonin tablets are not recommended on the NHS for jet lag because there isn't enough evidence that they work. The CDC Yellow Book notes that timing matters and that, in the US, melatonin is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so what's in the bottle may not match the label. The Sleep Foundation warns that the risk of falls or accidents is often higher after taking sleep medicines, and advises against trying melatonin for the first time on a plane. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using any sleep aid.
Jet lag means less sleep, and lost sleep affects driving. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says studies show sleep deficiency harms your driving ability as much as, or more than, being drunk. If you feel drowsy after landing, take a taxi, a shuttle or public transport instead of driving.
Jet lag usually improves within a few days, according to the NHS, although the Sleep Foundation notes it can sometimes last a few weeks. If you fly often, have health conditions, or your sleep stays poor long after you've settled in, ask your doctor, a sleep specialist or a travel clinic for advice that fits your itinerary and health history.
This is general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.
The NHS says it usually improves within a few days. The CDC Yellow Book gives average adjustment rates of about 1 hour per day after flying east and 1.5 hours per day after flying west, so bigger time differences take longer.
Stay awake until local bedtime if you can. The NHS advises avoiding daytime sleep after arriving, and the CDC Yellow Book says a short nap of 20 to 30 minutes can help you stay alert if you need one.
For most people, east is harder. The body clock finds it easier to shift later than earlier, which is what flying west requires.
Sleepward: Bedtime Routine won't calculate a jet lag plan or tell you when to get light. What it can help with is the bedtime part once you've chosen a local schedule: an editable routine, a gradually darkening wind-down screen, white, pink and brown noise with a sleep timer, and an optional wake-up reminder. It is free with optional Pro purchases and has no accounts or ads.
Get Sleepward free on the App Store
How to Get Over Jet Lag: Tips, Suggestions, and Treatments (Sleep Foundation)
Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency: How Sleep Affects Your Health (NHLBI, NIH)